Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.

William Alvey Darwin (1726-83), Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire;
Thence by descent.

B. Nicolson, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1968, Vol. I., pp. 13, 68, 195, no. 56, Vol. II., p. 109., pl. 177

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar of Hamish Dewar Fine Art Conservation Ltd, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas has an old lining which is still ensuring a secure structural support but there is an overall pattern of fine lines of slightly raised craquelure which could be considerably reduced should the canvas be relined. I would be confident that a sensitive lining would significantly reduce the craquelure pattern without adversely affecting the surface textures and impasto. The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows small scattered retouchings, many of which are very fine lines infilling craquelure. The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and if the craquelure was found to be visually distracting the canvas could be relined.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Jane Darwin was the daughter of Joseph Brown of Balderton, Nottinghamshire. On the 28th October 1772 she married William Alvey Darwin, the son of Robert Darwin and his wife, Elizabeth Hill. A lawyer and the elder brother of Erasmus Darwin, William was admitted to Gray's Inn on 11^thMay 1751, and later practised as an attorney with offices at the king's Head, Holborn. Their son William, who is shown in the present portrait aged two, was born on the 12th February 1774 and died on the 10th June 1841. On the 22nd May 1817 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas de St. Croix.

Following four years in Rome, Wright decided his best chance of success lay in filling the place left vacant in Bath since Gainsborough had left the town and settled in London. Wright moved to Bath with his family that autumn and only remained there for two years. He returned to Derby in the September of 1775, painting the present work, along with a portrait of the sitter's husband, the following year. Six years previously Wright had painted a portrait of his friend Erasmus, the sitter's brother in Law. The artist was a friend of John Whitehurst, the Derby inventor, who was well known to Darwin, being a member of the 'Lunar' group. When Wright became unwell c. 1767, Whitehurst would have recommended him to consult Erasmus and it is probable that Wright stayed at Erasmus's house in Lichfield on several occasions in the late 1760s and early 1770s.

Erasmus Darwin and Joseph Wright's paths continued to cross throughout their subsequent careers. It is possible that Wright introduced Darwin to his second wife Mrs Elizabeth Pole (1747–1832), widow of Colonel Edward Sacheverell Pole, who had sat to Wright and subsequently consulted Erasmus on medical matters. He was also clearly captivated by the Wright's artistic talents and in his later poetry he makes reference to the skills and attributes of the artist's landscapes. It is not surprising therefore that when his elder brother William came to commission portraits of himself and his wife and child; it was to his brother's close friend that he turned.

By the time this portrait was commissioned Wright had developed a close friendship with William Hayley and his friend the portrait artist George Romney. Romney's influence can be seen in this portrait which appears to owe part of its inspiration to Romney's portrait of Mrs Cawardine and her Child painted in the previous year. Both portraits acknowledge a debt to Raphael's Madonna della Sedia (Pitti Palace, Florence).